Co in-controlled pictu re-exhibitor



No. 626,425. Patented June 6, I899. c. T. HUNT.

COIN CONTROLLED PICTURE EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Mat. 9, 1899.) I (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shaat I.

k. w wqvm No. 626.425. Patented lune 6, I899.

c. T. HUNT.

COIWCONTROLLED PICTURE EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Mar. 9, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sh eet 2.

rllllllllllln M 4 Y 4 73 a, A MW fiii M w: mums ps'rzns c0, PHmo-uma, WASHINGTON, u c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE T. HUNT, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

COIN-CONTROLLED PICTURE-EXHIBITOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 626,42 5, dated June 6, 1899.

Application filed March 9, 1899. Serial No. 708,363. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE T. HUNT, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Coin-Controlled Picture-Exhibitors; and ldo hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a side View of a device constructed in accordance with my invention, a part of the case only being exhibited; Fig. 2, abroken view illustrating the secondary releasing device; Fig. 3, an edge view of the same; and Fig. 4, a sectional view of the picture-holder, illustrating the arrangement of the lighting device.

This invention relates to an improvement in coin-controlled picture-exhibitors,and particularly that class in which the stereopticon or double pictures are passed before the sightopening in the case and in which the mechanism for moving the pictures is set in operation by the weight of a coin dropped upon a lever in the case, the object'of the invention being to arrange a simple device in which the mechanism carrying the pictures will be positively fed and held in proper position before the sight-opening; and it consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claims.

The case A may be of any approved design, having a coin-slot B and a sight-opening C, which is provided with magnifying-glasses in the usual manner of devices of this character. The picture holder consists of two plates D D, herein shown as octagonal, but which may have any number of sides corresponding to the number of pictures to be exhibited, and on each plate are fingers a, beneath which the pictures may be passed, so as to be retained thereon. Preferably the fingers on one plate form a stop to limit the movement of the picture, and the other plate is provided with turn-buttons Z), which after the pictures have been passed into the holder are turned upward to hold them in position. This holder is mounted on bearings fixed to side frames E E in such position that as the holder is ro tated its faces will be successively presented before the sight-openin g C. The side frame E extends above the picture -holder and is formed with an upwardly-extending T-shaped 'arm F and a forwardly-extending brace G, the outer end G of which is turned upward and to which the coin-chute B is attached.

To the upwardly-extending arm F of the frame is attacheda clock strikingmechanism of any approved construction, and which includes a center arbor H, at the outer end of which is a count-wheel l, and which shaft also carries a stop-wheel J. Pivoted to the frameis a stop-arm J, which passes over the stop-wheel J, above which it is provided with a stop-finger Jiadapted to enter a notch J in the stop-wheel, and with an upwardly and rearwardly extending end J which normally stands in the path of the fly J The arm J is connected by a link K with a coin-lever K, which is pivot-ally connected to the frame and projects beneath the chute B, and so that the weight of a coin will depress the lever K, and hence move the stop-arm, the said stoparm J having a spring 7' connected with it, the tendency of said spring being to lift the arm.

Pivotally connected to an arm L, extending upward from the frame L of the clock mechanism, is a lever M, which extends into the path of the count-wheel J and at its free end is pivoted to a connecting-rod N, which extends downward into engagement with an arm 0, loosely mounted on the trunnion P, which is secured to the plate D of the pictureholder. Secured to this trunnion P is a notched wheel Q, with the notches Q of which a pawl O, which is pivoted to the outer end of the arm 0, engages. Pivotally connected with outwardly-extending lugs R R on the frame are spring-actuated pawls S S, which extend toward each other and are adapted to enter the notches Q of the wheel Q. From the pawl S projects a pin .5 into engagement with a finger .9, carried by the connecting-rod N, and so that as the connecting-rod rises, the pawl S will be lifted out of engagement with the notch-wheel Q, as will be more fully hereinafter described.

Upon the lever M is an inwardly-extending shoulder m, which will be successively engaged by the pinsi' of the count-wheel I, and

to hold this arm in position I arrangea coiled i 7 spring M, which extends into engagementli in the frame.

I J has turned, .so as to move the notch J be has completed its revolution.

yond the finger J I attach a flat spring T to the frame of the movement and turn its upper end inward to form a shoulder t, which if is adapted to snap under the stop-finger J after it has been raised by the action of the coin in arti g-th mecha s Thissn 'in 2% T is in the path of the movement on a short 1 stud t on the inner face of the stop-wheel J, and so that as the said stop-wheel rotates the stud will ride up over the surface of the springland press it inward, so .as to forcei the shoulder t out of engagement with the stop-finger J which then rides on the peripheryof the wheel J, and so as to be ready i to again enter the notch J when the wheel J a;

The "mechanism thus far described is sufiicient when the number of faces in the pictu'rehold-er corresponds with the number of I pins on the count-wheel, and so that the 1. movement of the mechanism will be arrested after the picture-wheel has made one revoluf tion; "but, if desired, a picture-holder having 1} double the-number of faces that there are 3 pins in the count-Wheel maybe employed, in 31 which case I provide the wheel U on the secl: 0nd shaft at with studs u, and to the frame 1? pivot a lever V in position to extend into the path of movement of the studsu, andso that 3 as the wheel revolves the said lever V will he raised. To this lever I attach a wire arm V, which extends upward into engagement 1 with the stop-arm J, as shown in Fig. 2. The pins ware so arranged that just as the wheel 11 J completes its revolution and the finger J is about to enter the notch J one of them will 1 engage with the lever V and so asto lift :the arm V and hold the stop-arm J upward and so as to permit the stop-wheel J to continue 1 its revolution. As soon as the stud u has 7 passed the lever V, the lever is returned to its normal position and so as to allow thestopf finger J to enter the notch J after the wheel J has completed its second revolution. With this addition to the mechanism the picture wheelmay have two or more times as many faces as there are pins-on the count-Wheehit being understood that there will beone notch in the wheel Q for each face in the pictureholder.

As herein shown, a supplemental chute C is provided, which will catch the coin as it. drops from the coin-lever K and conduct it we, suitable receptacle. (Not shown.)

Preferablythe pictures shown in a device ofthis character are semitransparent and require a light back of them in order to bring 1 them out, and to accomplish thisjI form the trunnion P, which is attached to the upright E and upon which the picture-holder revolves, from a piece of tubing, and to its i'n- I ping beneath it.

i. the fly-wheel J ner end attach an electric-light holder W, the wires 1 2 thereof extendingthrough the bear ing P, respectively, to an arm 4 and finger 3, which are attached to an insulating-block 5, mounted on the frame. The arm 4 extends into contact with the huh I of the count-' wheel I, the edge of which is formed with a notch 1 into which the end of the finger 3 extends when the count-wheel is at rest, and

so that the finger 3 is normally out of contact therewith; but as the count-wheel starts its revolution the periphery comes into contact with the finger 3, thus completing the circuit and lighting the lamp within the picture-holder, it being understood that the wires 1 2 pass through the source of lighting power.

The operation of the device is as follows: A coin being dropped through the slot B passes down-ward through the chute B and :onto the end of the lever K, depressing that 1 lever, which, through the link K, pulls the- ;stop-arm J downward and lifts the finger J 2 out of the notch J' iof the stop-wheel J, at the same time lifting the end J away from the fly-wheel J In this position the stop-arm is held by the shoulder t of the spring T snap- Thesprin g mechanism thus released turns the shaft H, and hence the count-wheel I, which in revolving moves the studs 2' against the shoulder mof the lever M and lifts that lever, which in turn, through the-medium of the connecting-rod N, lifts the ;arm '0, which draws the pawl O outof one of the notches Q of the wheel Q and lifts it until it engages with the next succeeding notch. The connecting-rod in thus lifting causes the finger sto engage with the finger s of .the pawl S and lift that pawl out of the notches Q, in which it rested, and so permits the wheel to.be turned in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, the said wheel being held against reverse movement by the pawl S.

After the stud i has passed the shoulder on the arm M under the action of the spring M descends and forces the arm O downward, and the pawl 0' being engaged with one of the notches Q turnsthe wheel Q one step and presents another face or picture in the picture-holder to the sight-opening, and this continues until the stop-wheel J has made one'revolution, when the finger J under the action of the spring j, will again enter the notch J 3 and so lock the mechanism. At the same time the arm J falls into the path of During the first part of the movement of the wheel J the stud 25 therein acts upon the face of the spring T and throws the shoulder i thereof out of engagement with the lever J, so that the lever is free to enter the notch, as above described,

when the wheel J has completed its revoluof the upward movement'of the connectingrod N. As soon as the count-wheel I starts its revolution the periphery thereof comes into contact with the finger 3, and so completes a circuit through the wires 1 2 and arm 4, and hence lights the lamp within the picture-holder. I

The mechanism thus described is sufficient tooperate a device in which the number of pictures corresponds to the number of pins on the count-Wheel; but when the number of pictures is double the number of pins on the count-wheel the lever V is employed in connection with the arm V and studs a of the wheel U, and so that just before the finger J drops into the notch J upon the completion of the first revolution of the wheel J one of the studs "it will lift thelever V and, through the arm V,hold the stop-arm J upward, and hence prevent the finger J entering the notch J which allows the wheel J, and hence the count-wheel I, to make a second revolution, the other features of the device operating substantially as before.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination of arevolving pictureholder and a notchedwheel secured thereto, and a lever mounted on the shaft of the notched wheel and having a pawl at its outer end for engagement with said notches, of reversely turned pawls for engaging other notches in the wheel, aspring-actuated movement carrying a count-wheel, a lever connected with the lever on the shaft of the notched wheel and adapted to be lifted by said count-wheel, and mechanism released by the Weight of a coin for setting the spring movement in motion, substantially as described.

22. The combination with a picture-holder comprising two side plates mounted in bearings between opposite sides of a frame, one of said bearings projecting through the frame and having a notched wheel secured thereto, of an arm loosely mounted on said bearing and carrying at its outer end a pawl for engagement with said notched wheel, reverselyturned pawls mounted for engagement with said notched wheel, a spring-actuated mechanism arranged above the picture-holder and including a count-wheel, a lever having an arm in the path of pins projecting outward from said count-wheel, said lever connecting with the arm on the notched-wheel bearing by a connecting-rod having a finger adapted to lift one of the pawls out of said notched wheel, a stop-arm adapted to be turned in one direction by the weight of a coin, and having a finger adapted to enter a notch in a stop-wheel, a spring adapted to snap beneath said stop-lever when the same is raised, and a stud on said stop-wheel adapted to force said spring out of engagement with the stoplever, substantially as described.

3. In a coin-controlled picture-exhibitor,

the combination with the stop-lever thereof and means for actuating the same by the weight of a coin, of a wheel in the movement having outwardly-extending studs, and a lever pivoted to the frame and having an arm extending upward into engagement with the stop-lever and adapted to be lifted by one of said studs, and whereby the stop-lever is raised to permit two revolutions of the stopwheel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLARENCE T. HUNT.

Vitnesses:

FRED. C. EARLE, J. H. SHUMWAY. 

